


5 times Harley thought Peter was Hot (+1 time Everyone Did)

by imhavingabruhmoment



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Fluff, Give me a break, Harley being awkward, Harley crushing hard, Harley doesn't know Peter is Spiderman, I dont control you, Lol idrk what I'm doing here, M/M, No Beta, Peter being oblivious, Peter is confused, or maybe don't give me a break
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-25
Updated: 2020-05-29
Packaged: 2020-10-13 03:24:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 3,695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20575667
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imhavingabruhmoment/pseuds/imhavingabruhmoment
Summary: It's pretty much what the title says.Yay! I'm done editing the story and it's now readable! Thanks for waiting (or maybe you didn't wait and you're just seeing this now) but either way thanks!





	1. Chapter 1

1)

Summer was going well in Harley’s eyes. He was finally out of Rose Hill, Tennessee, and in New York City with Tony, his mentor and pretty much the coolest person Harley knew (but Tony can’t know that he’s cool, his ego is already huge). He had everything he could possibly want, from lab time and cool technology to work with, to his own mini kitchen. His room at the tower was so big that he could fit a COUCH in it!! (Harley is really, really excited about this couch. It’s the coolest thing that’s ever happened to him, including a billionaire crash-landing into his shed) But the best thing about New York City is Peter Parker, Tony’s adorable intern with the most perfect hair and voice and eyes and….. Yeah. Peter is perfect.

Of course, Peter doesn’t know that Harley thinks he’s adorable, Peter probably thinks of Harley as the annoying kid that sometimes cuts into his lab time with Tony. And to make matters worse, every time Harley walked into the lab when Peter was working, Peter would hurriedly close all of his work and not make eye contact with Harley. But Harley tried his best to be charming and friendly to Peter, sometimes even flirting with him (which would cause a pretty blush to sprout on Peter’s face). But Peter was a private person, Harley barely knew anything about him except that he was cute, shy, and wore sweaters with science puns on them. 

So one day, when Tony walked into the lab and tiredly told Harley to get Peter, Harley was slightly nervous but also excited to see what Peter’s room looked like. Harley thought that maybe he would learn more about him based on the decorations. 

Harley was going to do this in the suavest way possible, walk in and lightly flirt with Peter, get him to blush and maybe start a real conversation in which they can really _connect _with each other-- maybe even become friends. 

And with this brilliant plan on Harley’s mind, he waltzed into Peter’s room without knocking, which was the best and worst thing Harley could’ve possibly done. 

\---

Harley walked through the door, a flirty remark on the tip of his tongue when he looked up and immediately froze at the sight in front of him. Peter was sitting on his bed, phone clutched against his ear, and seemed to be listening very intently to the person on the other end of the line. But all Harley could focus on was the fact that Peter was currently shirtless. 

And holy SHIT was Peter hot, with abs that seemed to glisten the longer Harley looked at them and caramel brown hair falling into his eyes, wearing nothing but black sweatpants that did _everything_ for his thighs. “_Dammmnnnnnn_” was all Harley could think, still shocked. 

Peter finally looked up at Harley, blushed firetruck red, and hung up the phone so fast that Harley hardly processed that it even happened. 

“Oh my god. Oh my god, I’m so sorry. Tony-- uhhh, Tony wanted you? In, um, the lab?” Harley stuttered. “I should’ve knocked, I’m--” 

“No, you’re fine!” Peter jutted in. “Sorry that I’m not really dressed right now, I wasn’t really expecting company obviously.”

“No, yeah, no that makes sense! Yeah. Yes.” Harley blubbered. 

“Well, can you tell Tony I’ll be at the lab in like five minutes?” 

“Yeah of course! I’ll do that. Right now.” 

Harley then rushed out the door with one thought on his mind: “_Holy shit Peter Parker is hot as fuck. I’m screwed.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading the first chapter of this! After cleaning it up a bit I like it a lot more. I apologize to anyone who really enjoyed the fic in its previous state, but I hope that you can enjoy the newer version too!
> 
> (furthermore, sorry if comments no longer make sense either, I tried to keep the story the same but I had to change some key details for a smoother story, you know?)


	2. Chapter 2

2) 

Harley had lost the ability to function normally around Peter. What used to be Peter hurriedly shutting the tabs on his computer while Harley made friendly conversation was now Peter not-so-hurriedly shutting tabs on his computer while Harley’s brain malfunctioned. And Peter acted as if he found it _funny._ Which was _cruel._ Because Harley was _dying._

Worst of all, Tony noticed it one day and had yet to let go of the fact that Harley Keener had a weakness. And that weakness was maybe the least threatening person Tony knew (not including the entire Spider-Man thing, Tony doesn’t think that really counts.)

“Sooo Harley, how’s Petey Pie doing today?” Tony drawled.

“I wouldn’t know,” Harley grumbled back.

“Awww, you’re nerrrrvoouuss.”

“Am not!”

“What even happened anyway? Just last week you were fine around him, and this week suddenly everything has changed,” Tony questioned.

“Peterhasabs,” Harley mumbled. 

“What was that?”

“Peter has abs.”

And at that, Tony started to laugh his ass off. “Oh my god,” He cackled. “You can’t talk to Peter because he has ABS?” 

“He’s pretty! It’s disorienting!!!!” Harley yelled over Tony’s giggling.

“Oh my god,” Tony wheezed, slowly sobering from his sudden fit of laughter. “You need to go talk to him and get over whatever you call this… thing.” 

“Ugh,” was all Harley said before standing up and walking away. Rationally, he knew that Tony had a point, the only way to get over his nervousness around Peter was to talk to him like a normal person, but Harley really, really didn’t want to.

So Harley went back to his room and sat on his bed, left alone with his thoughts.

\---

Harley’s thoughts were boring. Harley was bored. Sitting up in defeat, Harley looked to the ceiling and called out “Hey Friday, where’s Peter?” 

“Peter is currently on the training floor, would you like me to pass a message to him?” a robotic voice with a light Irish accent replied.

“No, thanks though Fri.” And with that, Harley was off to the training floor, ready to face Peter.

\---

Just before the elevator doors opened on the training area, Harley took a deep breath and mentally prepared himself to face Peter. As the doors slid open and Harley stepped out, he immediately lost the air in his lungs and froze once again at the wonder that was Peter Parker.

This time, Peter was doing insane acrobatics that didn’t seem humanly possible (because they weren’t, but Harley didn’t know that.) And Harley has frozen once again at the beauty of a hot, sweaty Peter Parker breathing hard after his exercise. 

He soon regained control of his body, thankfully before Peter noticed him, and called out “Hey!”

Peter immediately stopped his workout and turned to Harley as if he was caught with his hand in a cookie jar. “Oh! Uh, hey Harley! What are you doing down here?” he said nervously. 

“I actually came by to talk to you if that’s ok?” Harley returned, slightly put off by Peter’s tone. 

“Yeah of course! What’d you want to talk about?”

“Well, I kinda realized that we’re not that close and we totally should be, ya know, considering that we’re like both teenagers? So I was wondering if you wanted to show me around New York tomorrow night?” 

“Oh! I would actually really enjoy that!” Peter exclaimed, all hints of unease in his voice disappearing. “What time were you thinking?” 

“Um, would seven be okay with you?” 

“Yeah! Sounds good to me!” 

“Ok! It’s a date!” 

Harley walked into the elevator and pressed the button to go to the common floor before realizing what he said. _It’s a date_. 

_“Oh no, Peter probably thinks that tomorrow night is a date now!” _Harley thought furiously, breaking out into a nervous sweat. “_Who says ‘It’s a date’ to close a conversation?” _Harley was going to die of mortification. How on earth would he survive a date with the hottest boy he’d ever set his eyes on? 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading chapter 2 of this fic! It was really fun to rewrite and edit to my liking! If you want to, you can leave a kudos or a comment, I really enjoy reading the comments! If you have any direct questions or you want to connect, you can find me on my tumblr at snails-tails (I just set it up so it's very empty right now but it won't be for long!)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harley prepares for the date, despite still not being certain that this is a date

3)

Harley stood in the center of his room, surrounded by every single piece of clothing he had at the tower. He had no idea what to wear to his maybe-date with Peter, and also didn’t know if the maybe-date was even a date. He had exactly three hours to figure out a game plan and he still had no clue what to wear. He picked up a plain black t-shirt and held it up to a pair of maroon jeans, sighed dejectedly, and tossed them into the growing piles of clothes around his room. What on earth was he going to do? 

Suddenly, his bedroom door opened to reveal Pepper Potts sporting a serene high pony-tail and black stilettos. Harley’s savior had arrived. 

“Pepper! Oh thank god, I really need your help,” Harley exclaimed.

“I can see that,” Pepper replied, casting a look around the room. “What is happening here, exactly?” 

“I asked Peter to show me around the city tonight, and I can’t tell if it’s supposed to be a date or not? So I have no clue how to act or what to wear or how this evening is going to go?”

Pepper nodded resolutely at Harley and immediately picked up an old band t-shirt, a denim jacket, and some black jeans. “Wear this, it’s casual but in a hot way. And act like you act when you’re joking with Tony, there’s no need to be nervous around Peter of all people.” Harley nodded along, taking every work that Pepper said into deep consideration. “Okay. I can do this, this isn’t a big deal.” 

“Damn right,” Pepper agreed. “Now, let’s fix that hair of yours.” 

\---

When Harley stepped out of his room, he could say with 100% confidence that he looked badass. He had put the outfit Pepper chose for him on with a pair of black high tops, and his honey-blond hair was pulled back into a low ponytail with a couple of strands falling out. Pepper had done really, really well, not only with his wardrobe but also with calming Harley’s nerves. He felt like he could take on the world at that moment. 

And then Peter walked up to him, wearing a pair of khaki overalls with one button undone, revealing a plain white cropped shirt (showing just a peek of his muscular torso) with a bee in the center. He looked like the perfect mix of amazingly hot and ridiculously cute. Harley couldn’t decide if he wanted to bend Peter over the nearest hard surface or bundle him in blankets and keep him safe. Needless to say, Harley was breathless. 

Peter seemed to be in just as much of a stupor as Harley was, ogling Harley’s legs (and were Harley’s eyes mistaken or did Peter just check out his ass?) Peter was the first to regain his composure, but he had a bright blush painted over his cheeks. 

“So,” Peter said softly. “Are you ready to head out?” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! This is a really short chapter and I promise you that the next ones won't be this short. I just really wanted to do a classic "getting ready" scene from a coming of age movie kinda deal? Like it didn't really work out the way I thought it would but it's ok because, at one point in this chapter, Harley did think Peter Parker was hot!  
Thanks so much for reading! Leave a kudos if you enjoyed it! And to test if anyone actually reads the endnotes, comment the word 'hot'!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The "date"

4)

Peter and Harley were out on the streets of New York, Peter grabbing Harley’s hand every so often and dragging him in different directions, pointing at obscure things and explaining them all in detail. Peter was a vision in the city lights, the colors lightly reflecting off of his skin and casting dramatic shadows across his face. The conversation between the two flowed smoothly and Harley couldn’t believe that he was ever stressed about the ‘date’ happening. Peter brought them to a bodega that he claimed had the best sandwiches in New York (and from what Harley could taste, he had to agree) and told Harley different stories that happened on different streets. Harley was having the time of his life.

“OH OH OH! Over here,” Peter exclaimed, pointing to one of the taller buildings in the area. “You gotta see this Harls!”

“See what? An apartment building?”

“Yes but also no. Just follow me, okay?” Peter guided Harley into the building and onto the elevator, frantically pushing the button that led to the top floor. From the top floor, they walked up a flight of stairs that Harley assumed went to the roof, and opened a door. Peter threw his arms wide open, gesturing to the city around them. It was breathtaking, and Harley stood still, taking in the beautiful scenery around him. Peter then guided Harley to sit on the edge of the building with him.

“Do you come up here often?” Harley questioned.

“As much as I can, yeah,” Peter replied. “It’s kind of my escape, you know?”

“Yeah, I get that. What are you escaping from?”

“Myself, most of the time. It’s nice to let go of everything, my thoughts and my responsibilities. Sometimes I feel the pressure to be perfect in every way build up inside of me, and I come here to cast it away.”

“I’m really happy you shared this with me, Pete. It’s amazing.”

Peter leaned into Harley, letting his head fall to Harley’s shoulder, looking out into the city around them. They sat in silence for a while, the honking of cars the only sound to be heard. Slowly, Peter lifted his head and looked at Harley as if Harley were the most precious thing in the world. Peter then brought his hand up to Harley’s cheek and turned Harley’s face towards his, and tilted his head up, bringing his lips closer and closer to Harley’s.

To Harley, this all felt strangely right, as if something in the universe finally clicked. Harley lowered his head, and just when their lips were about to meet, Peter jumped up almost like he’d been burned.

“Harley, did you hear that?” Peter said in an anxious tone.

“Hear what? I didn’t hear anything?” Harley replied, upset that the moment had been ruined.

“Of course you didn’t, what am I thinking?” Peter muttered. “Listen, we gotta go down to the streets, somethings about to go seriously wrong, I can feel it.”

“What are you talking about? Everything seems fine to me!”

“Yeah! But everything is not fine, and we gotta go.” And with that, Peter dragged Harley down to the streets below and turned into an alley.

“Look, Pete, I don’t know what’s going on, can you please explain?” Harley was still upset that the almost-kiss hadn’t occurred because Peter heard a noise.

“Okay. Harls, I really, really need you to not freak out right now,” Peter said seriously. “I’m about to tell you my biggest secret because it’s really important.”

“Okay....?”

“I’m Spider-Man.”

“No, you’re not. Stop playing with me.”

“No, I really am! Now shhh, two guys are about to rob that store on the corner, and someone might get hurt if I don’t do something.” Peter then pushed Harley behind a dumpster and gestured at him to be quiet.

“_So Peter is insane. Might’ve been nice to know before going out with him, huh Pepper? Tony?” _Harley thought to himself.

Then Peter tapped the metal bracelet on his wrist twice and became Spider-Man. And yet again Harley was in shock.

\---

Harley shook himself out of his stupor and stood up and walked the slightest bit closer to the action, where he could clearly see what was going on but not quite hear it. 

Peter had swung over to the little shop on the corner and immediately began to fight the robbers, who upon seeing him yelled "Fuck! Spider-Freak!" and started shooting. Peter seemed to have said something to the robbers because they stopped, clearly confused, while Peter seemed to be laughing. In the blink of an eye, the weapons and the robbers were webbed to a wall and the police were called. 

Seeing Peter in action was 1. Very hot, like damn, but also 2. Very scary. Harley would have to remember to never cross Peter.

Peter then came across the street, grabbed Harley, and webbed away to the tower and entered through the window to Harley’s room. Peter ripped off his mask and immediately apologized.

“I am literally so, so sorry for not telling you! And interrupting out date! And ruining the moment! I should have told you, oh god, I hope you can forgive me!” Peter paced around the room, rambling about how sorry he was and working himself up to a breakdown.

“Hey! Hey Pete, it’s okay! I understand why you did what you did, ok? Now, how about you take a seat right over here, next to me?” Harley said, guiding Peter to his side. “Everything is okay, okay?”

“Yeah, okay,” Peter replied.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not really loving the way this chapter turned out? Like it was kinda cute at the beginning but I feel like I totally screwed up the scene with the spider-manning. It could've been written better I think. Idk, could be just me? I hope you guys enjoy this at least! Again, feel free to comment or check out my Tumblr at snails-tails. Thanks so much again!


	5. Chapter 5

5)

Peter had eventually fallen asleep against Harley, lightly drooling on Harley’s shoulder (was it bad that Harley even found Peter’s drooling attractive?) Harley went over the day’s events with a mix of contentedness and confusion. Looking back on it, it was very, very clear that Peter was Spider-Man, with his extremely muscular physique and gravity-defying acrobatics, but Harley had been just as oblivious as any other civilian, despite practically living with the guy. 

Eventually, Tony came by Harley’s room, smiling a little at the sleeping spider before looking to Harley with a questioning glance.

“So, he told you about the spider thing, I’m assuming?” Tony whispered.

“Yep,” Harley sighed. “I’m a little embarrassed I didn’t figure it out on my own, to be honest.”

“That’s fair. If it makes you feel any better, the kid’s own aunt didn’t even know until I practically forced him to tell her.”

“Geez, really? I feel like it’s so obvious!” “Yeah, but who would suspect such a shy kid to be the web-slinger? Those sweaters he wears also help a lot.”

“I guess so. It kinda sucks that our date was ruined though.”

“It’s the way things are with heroes bud, ask Pep about it. She knows better than anyone else possibly could.”

“Yeah,” Harley said with a yawn. “Yeah, I bet she does.”

“Okay kid, you seem really tired, I’m gonna let you get some rest,” Tony said. He proceeded to kiss both Peter and Harley on the forehead, then walked out of the room. 

\---

The next morning, Harley woke up with a weight on his chest. The weight was really warm and comfy though, so Harley didn’t complain. About ten minutes went by, Harley just laying contentedly, when suddenly the last day caught up with him. That ‘_weight_’ must’ve been Peter. Harley lightly shook Peter, attempting to move him a little so Harley could get up but to no avail. 

Another 30 minutes passed before Peter finally stirred, raising his head and kissing Harley’s chin, not seeming fully awake. 

“Hmm,” Peter sighed. “Goo’ Morn’n.”

“Good morning, darling,” Harley replied.

“I like when you call me darlin’, should do it more of’n”

“Okay, darling. Let’s get up now, it’s late.”

“Okayyyy,” Peter groaned. He then got up, revealing a muscled chest and the hottest bed-head Harley had ever laid his eyes on. 

_“Holy shit, it is not fair how hot this boy is,”_ Harley thought to himself, following in Peter’s footsteps and getting out of bed. 

“Oh!” Peter said, still a little groggy. “I forgot to give you this last night.” 

“What’d you forget to give me, doll?” 

Peter then grabbed Harley’s face and gave him the sweetest kiss Harley had ever experienced, despite the morning breath. 

“Yer welcome,” Peter said after releasing Harley’s face. “I… I’m gon’ get some clothes now, see you at breakfast.”

/p>

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, definitely a short chapter, but also very cute (unless it wasn't lol) Morning!Peter might be my new favorite thing to write oml. By this point you're probably like "Jesus, this girl really has a thing for abs, she keeps bringing them up!" you're right. I 1000% have a thing for abs, specifically Tom Holland abs. I will not lie to you.


	6. +1

+1)

It all started after the summer break when Harley started attending Midtown High. The first day sucked ass for Peter, having to get used to not having the freedom to just randomly walk on walls or exercise his spider-ness, but Harley seemed to be having fun. Of course, Peter only had second period and lunch with him, but still, Harley looked like he was genuinely enjoying being with people around his IQ level. 

So everything was going okay, until three-ish weeks into the school year when Flash Thompson decided that Harley was the object of his affections, not realizing that Peter and Harley were kind of a _thing._ And of course, Harley only having eyes for Peter, didn’t realize that Flash was blatantly flirting with him. Flash would pop over during lunch, glare at Peter for a second, then sweetly tell Harley “Oh Harls, I need help with this assignment!” or “Harley-baby, do you want to come eat lunch with me?” and one time even “Hey Harley, I think the utility closet is empty, maybe we could _chat_ in there for a bit.” And what would Harley do? Laugh it off! As if Flash wasn’t asking Harley to go make out in a utility closet! 

Peter was slowly getting more and more annoyed, and Ned and MJ were getting seriously worried that he was going to break something. Peter didn’t want to bring it up with Harley either, arguing that he “didn’t want to be one of those boyfriends that doesn’t let his boyfriend make friends with other boys!” (Which was a bad way of wording it, in MJ’s opinion)

But eventually, (about 4 weeks of dealing with Flash’s painful flirting) Peter snapped.

“Heya Harls, we should go get dinner and catch a movie later,” Flash practically sang while MJ and Ned mimed gagging.

“Sorry Flash, Petey and I already have plans!” Harley returned, obviously not realizing that Flash wasn’t just saying these things as a friend.

“Ew, you’d seriously rather hang out with Parker than me? Maybe you should think that one over a bit Harley-poo.”

And with that, Peter was done. It wasn’t even a big deal really, Peter just stood up, and walked past Flash with no comment, and captured Harley’s lips with his own. 

Flash, being Flash, gawked for a full 5 seconds before pouring his spaghetti on Peter’s shirt and stalking away angrily. 

Peter let go of Harley with a small gasp, and before Harley could get a word in edgewise, Peter said: “Can I have your sweatshirt?” 

“Wha?” Harley said breathlessly, still a little disoriented before he looked at Peter’s soaking shirt, “Oh, of course, babe.”

And of course, Peter, being an idiot and not thinking like a sane person, just stripped his shirt off-- in front of the whole lunchroom, mind you-- and made grabby hands toward the sweater in Harley’s hands. 

And at that moment, everyone’s brain (except for Ned and MJ’s) malfunctioned as they marveled at Peter’s upper body before it disappeared under Harley’s sweatshirt. Peter didn’t even notice he did anything out of the ordinary until he felt everyone’s eye’s seething into his back. 

“Oh no,” Peter said. “I suck at this identity thing.” while MJ and Ned nodded sagely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading! You might notice that the writing style is just the slightest bit different in this chapter, and that's because I wrote it over a year ago! I decided I really liked the way this chapter was written story-wise, so I just edited a bit and let that be. This was a really fun little update project and I hope you guys enjoyed it! Hit up my Tumblr at snails-tails (it's still very, very empty atm) and let me know what you think in the comments!
> 
> Ok also, would anyone be interested in reading this fic but from Peter's perspective? Or like more works from me?


End file.
